The CIA plans to radically overhaul operations, ramping up its capability to deal with cyber threats while boosting integration between departments via a network of new units, the agency says.

Central Intelligence Agency director John Brennan outlined the proposed changes to the agency in a message to staff on Friday described as a “Blueprint for the Future” covering four key areas.

Mr Brennan said the US espionage agency would set up a new “Directorate of Digital Innovation” to reflect the rapidly evolving cyber landscape ::::

“We must place our activities and operations in the digital domain at the very centre of all our mission endeavours,” Mr Brennan wrote. “To that end, we will establish a senior position to oversee the acceleration of digital and cyber integration across all of our mission areas.”

The changes reflect the increasing emphasis on cybersecurity by the US after a series of high-profile digital breaches in recent years, such as the Sony Pictures hack blamed on North Korea.

Director of National Intelligence James Clapper last month told lawmakers that foreign cyber attacks represented a bigger threat to national security than terrorism.

US media reports said Mr Brennan’s sweeping changes would affect thousands of employees at the agency.

A centrepiece of the overhaul would be the establishment of 10 new “Mission Centres” aimed at enhancing integration between departments.

“Never has the need for the full and unfettered integration of our capabilities been greater,” Mr Brennan said in his message. “We must take some bold steps toward more integrated, coherent and accountable mission execution.”

Analysts said the introduction of Mission Centres was intended to eliminate divisions between traditional departments covering the Middle East, Africa and other regions.

Several media reports said the new units would be modelled on the CIA’s Counterterrorism Centre, which grew exponentially in the years after the September 11, 2001 attacks on US soil.

The new centres will “bring the full range of operational, analytic, support, technical and digital personnel and capabilities to bear on the nation’s most pressing security issues,” Mr Brennan said.

Each new centre would be led by an assistant director who would be accountable for overall mission accomplishment in the field or geographic region assigned to their unit.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the overhaul follows an exhaustive review led by senior CIA veterans that identified several “pain points”.

“One of the things we’re trying to do here is to think about the agency operating in a way so that there are less of those … frictions that build up over time, and to have a more streamlined, a more efficient agency so we can, frankly, produce more, do a better job in some of the areas where we need to do better,” Mr Brennan was quoted by The Wall Street Journal as saying.

Australian mining magnate Clive Palmer has outlandishly accused the United States Government of funding environmental group Greenpeace via the CIA to undermine Australia’s coal mining sector. Palmer made the extraordinary claim over Greenpeace’s plan to use the court system to tie up coal mining applications.

Palmer is apparently angry at Greenpeace’s plan to use lawyers to thwart future coal mining projects and claims funding is coming from US environmental charity the Rockefeller Foundation. He alleges it is funded by the CIA and says it is trying to harm Australia’s industry and help American interests.

Palmer referred to a paper produced by environmental group Greenpeace which calls for action to stop the expansion of the Queensland coal industry. Greenpeace’s plans were leaked to the media earlier this month as it organises a campaign to raise $6 million to fund legal battles against controversial coal mining projects across Australia :: Read the full article »»»»

As polling booths prepare to open across Perth, one political party has ramped up its media presence with that standard Aussie manoeuvre, a pair of strategically place boobs.

In this latest round of political campaigning – Senate seats for Western Australia – The Australian Sports Party has posted a joke on it’s Facebook page that has many wondering what direction – if any – the party intends to canvas punters on.

Australia has a rich history of political cranks, our last election, 2013, witnessed a cacoffiny of crazy, odd-ball candidates.

From Clive Palmer’s paranoia – the billionaire turned politician still reckons lefty Greens are funded by the CIA – to the dope (hemp if you must) party, This latest election – a senate only re-run due to bungling by the Electoral Commission – will surely see politics over-run by mental micro opinion?

The big question has to be ‘has Australian politics become, well, too Aussie?’ As minor, micro parties busily stitch together preferences, swapping deals in the hope of riding an unpredictable wave into the Australian Federal Parliament, the marriages are likely to be idiosyncratic matches, The Hemp, Sports and Sustainable Pollution Parties have little in common but are likely to swap preference in order to gain seats.

The Australian Sports Party -ASP – should apologise for the above Facebook photo, a prominent women’s rights group says. The picture is accompanied by an anecdote about the woman, described as “voluptuous” and a “babe”, who is running with a sign around her neck saying, “If you catch me, you can have me” :: Read the full article »»»»